How to Sell Your Online Course and Get Paid

The online courses market is booming right now and is projected to reach a £15.54 bn market volume in the UK by 2029 [1]. Since 2000, the industry has grown by 900% [2]. And this growth doesn't seem to stop any time soon. What could be a better time to get into the eLearning industry?

If you feel confident in what you have to offer, can create a coherent educational course, and want to add online education to your income portfolio - this article is for you. Our guide will ensure your course doesn't just gather digital dust but instead becomes an instant hit with your audience.

Making the Course

Firstly, you need to choose the right topic for the course. Choose something you're knowledgeable, passionate about, or willing to learn thoroughly. Research the market, analyse Google Trends, and browse what social media says about the potential topic. Make sure that there's an audience out there that will be willing to pay for whatever you're going to sell. Ensure there's a demand by testing interest through polls or short tutorials on social media. Consider making a TikTok or an Instagram page with short-form content on the topic.

Identify your target audience and research their preferences to tailor your courses effectively. Research existing courses to find opportunities in popular or niche areas. Take notes on what works and doesn't work for competitors. Read the reviews for existing alternatives and discover what others are missing. What if there are 1000 courses on knitting sweaters? Yours could be the best one!

What's the 'Killer Feature'?

Once you have the bone structure of your course - you need to give it a heart. The online course market is highly competitive, and buying educational material online and gaining useful information from it is still alien to a large percentage of the population. However, those who are willing to pay for their eLearning are spoiled by hundreds and hundreds of options online, including celebrity masterclasses, free YouTube tutorials, courses from big eLearning platforms & countless others.

You need to stand out from the rest—you need a killer feature. While we touched on that topic above, we can't stress enough how important that part of the online course business is. Not only will that make the whole thing much easier to market, but it will also help you choose the right platforms for distribution, pick the perfect ad placements, and simply find the right SEO keywords for your website/profile.

While 'finding a killer feature' might sound difficult - it's not necessarily going to be a struggle. If you're well-versed in your expertise, you already know what the competition is missing. If you do, highlight that part of the course, expand it, and make it a part of its identity.

Is the Visual Aspect Important?

We're in the age of Instagram, and the visual aspect can make or break any business venture nowadays.

If your course isn't just text-based, you might need two types of visuals here. If your course creation demands specific visuals, actual filming, audio recording, special effects, etc., and you have the means to pay for production on a somewhat healthy budget, you might do that. But don't go too overboard here—you're not making a Hollywood film here, and the returns in the online course industry are a bit smaller.

However, if your online course doesn't need a big production, you might do everything DIY. There are a ton of free YouTube tutorials on editing videos, setting up a camera, filming yourself, recording good-quality audio, and every other thing that might come up during the production of your online course (there are online courses on all that, too, by the way).

Choosing the Right Platform for Your Online Course & the Correct Pricing

This particular topic is very complicated. Choosing the right topic will determine how you'll have to market this course and your pricing as well. We'd strongly suggest keeping these points in mind when making these choices:

• Course production expenses: This includes costs associated with filming, editing, creating assignments or quizzes, and designing certificates and badges, if applicable.
• Target audience: Assess the amount your intended audience will pay for such a course on a platform.
• Competition: Investigate similar courses available on the platform and compare their pricing. Avoid setting your course price too high compared to others with similar content.
• Sales objectives: Decide on the revenue you aim to achieve from this course and use that to guide your choice of platform and pricing strategy.
• Rules of the platform: Make sure that the rules of the platform fit you and your product.
• Revenue cut: Find out what percentage of revenues each platform takes from each sale.

Marketing & Selling

We're finally here - you actually get to sell your course now! Congrats! You can give yourself a round of applause but don't get too chuffed. Selling is the hardest part of the process. We can write another article on that (or maybe even an online course).

• Invest time & resources into short-form content
• Offer a free demo
• Paid ads
• Social media presence
• Work with your distribution platform.

How Can I Get Paid for My Online Course?

There are multiple ways to accept payments for your online course, depending on your business model and preferences:

• Wire Transfers: If you're running your course independently through your website or social media, you can request direct SEPA transfers from your customers. This method is simple but requires managing invoices and tracking payments manually.
• Adding Acquiring Services to Your Website: Integrating payment gateways and acquiring solutions enables smooth customer transactions. These services allow you to accept card payments and link them to your banking account for easy tracking.
• Course Platforms with Built-in Payments: Platforms like Teachable, Udemy, and Kajabi handle transactions for you. However, they often take a percentage of your earnings, so be mindful of the fees.

Get Paid with Amaiz

If you're still deciding on the best payment option for your courses, get in touch with Amaiz to streamline your operations. With both acquiring services and a current account, Amaiz allows you to focus on what truly matters—selling your course.

Amaiz provides a seamless setup process: simply submit your documents, pass a compliance check, and you're ready to start accepting funds for your courses. 

To submit an application for business account visit www.amaiz.com.

Good luck with your new business! 🚀 

1. Statista research - [https://www.statista.com/outlook/emo/online-education/united-kingdom].

2. Ciphr article from 2022 - [https://www.ciphr.com/infographics/virtual-learning-statistics].

#OnlineCourses #eLearning #EdTech #DigitalLearning #OnlineEducation #LearnOnline #StudyOnline #PassiveIncome #FutureOfEducation #Amaiz #FinTech #PaymentSolutions #SellOnline #GetPaidOnline #SEPA #SWIFT #acquiring